Catching up with Larry Coker

A potpourri of topics this morning with Roadrunners head coach Larry Coker. Enjoy.

Junior Day

Coker said the team’s junior day function last Saturday drew more than 100 players and 400 total including family members and such. (NOTE — it was actually UTSA’s second junior day, not the first, as I had initially reported a few weeks back.) Last year’s event drew roughly 70 players, Coker said. No commitments, which isn’t all that surprising considering the first commitments in the past two classes came in late spring (Chris Johnson, 2009) and mid-summer (Troy Williams 2010). But that wasn’t the thrust of the event, as opposed to larger schools like Texas.

“It’s great exposure for the university,” he said. “We’ll know more in February (2012), but we signed about five guys this year from our first junior day. There were definitely some guys we’re going to keep an eye on, probably a couple dozen. We obviously don’t have a lot of scholarships to offer, but we’ll stay in contact.”

Next year’s class

After signing two large classes, UTSA will begin to taper things down in the coming few years. That has as much to do with scholarship limitations as the need to avoid graduating a huge chunk of the roster at once, Coker said. Though he and his staff won’t determine a specific target until after spring practice, Coker said the number will probably be in the teens. (I’ve heard something between 15 and 17 is a safe bet.) He also said they’ve already made “four or five” offers.

“We’ll definitely zero in on positions we have to have (with the next class), but we haven’t done that yet,” Coker said. “We’re going to see how we look after spring ball and make some decisions then. We might redshirt some of the kids coming in. I think we’re going to be a much more attractive program to some junior college kids.

“Maybe we’ll get some drop downs, some guys we recruited that went to other programs. But (spreading our scholarships out) is an issue that needs to be addressed. It’s not easy. You want to win immediately, but we can’t afford to graduate everyone at the same time.”

Walk-on scholarships

Coker confirmed that defensive end Marlon Smith, safety Mark Waters, linebacker Steven Kurfehs and fullback Evans Okotcha have indeed been awarded full scholarships. While the three defensive players earned raves throughout fall camp, Okotcha came as something as a surprise when defensive coordinator Neal Neathery first told me about this on signing day. But Coker sounds like he loves the Portland State transfer, saying he should play a key role in UTSA’s multiple offense.

“It’s unique because most people don’t even have (a fullback),” Coker said. “They’re hard to find. He could have played any college I’ve been at. He has tremendous value. Excellent blocker, excellent hands. He has running skills, too. He gives us another dimension.”

Mike Menefee’s resignation

Coker said he’ll move quickly to replace the departed safeties coach, preferably in time for the start of spring practice on March 5. That only gives him a couple of weeks, but he said resumes and recommendations are already pouring in. Coker also said the resignation came as something as a surprise.

“Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “It’s a good situation for him. I’ve got a short list of people that I know; that’s the beauty of being around for a while. I know a lot of people, and the good thing is, a lot of people want to be here. We’re getting some great resumes, too.”

Spring schedule

Still sounds a bit tenative, but Coker said the team will hold four workouts, starting on March 5, before spring break. The team will then finish off their remaining 11 workouts leading up to the spring game on April 9. Three of the workouts will be open scrimmages, while the others will be closed.

Offseason workouts

I’m planning to dig into this for a column next week or shortly thereafter, but Coker said he’s been pleased with the results (so far). The team lifts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and runs at Farris Stadium on Tuesday and Thursday. He said strength and conditioning coach Charlie Dudley told him the team had its best workout yet on Monday.

“He said it finally looks like they’re starting to get it in terms of the work ethic,” said Coker, who attends the running workouts. “I’m impressed with what I’ve seen.”